A Week in Parliament

Department of International Development

When we have a global pandemic international aid and co-operation is vital. We need to remember that as well as helping the poorest in the world, aid can help reduce the risks of terrorism brewing from malign influences over desperate people. And with pandemics, helping curb this keeps us other countries safer. So what is Johnson’s response? To get rid of the Department for International Aid. It is quite callous at this time of need.

Paintjob

Recession? Apparently not, when Johnson can find £900,000 to make sure a grey RAF plane he uses is repainted red white and blue.

Trace App

Another Tory UK Government botch job has been that they have had to abandon the “world leading” tracing app they were developing. This was so that people who had been in contact with someone who contracts Covid-19 could be contacted and tested. The Scottish Tories had insisted that Nicola Sturgeon used the UK app. Turns out it is a good job we didn’t! Scotland is also using more public health workers to do the tracing whereas the UK Tories are farming these matters out to call centre companies for them to make more money. The difference in leadership is stark.

 Alex Dyer

In amongst the ongoing debate about racism it has long been highlighted that there are a dearth of football managers in the UK from Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. Scotland is no different. Billy Bowie and the rest of the KFC board should be commended for confirming the appointment of Alex Dyer who is now is only BAME manager in Scotland. However, Dyer has gotten this job on merit not anything to do with the colour of his skin. He himself has said this but highlighted that opportunities don’t come along that often for managers and coaches of his race. The new gaffer has my backing and it hopefully won’t be too long before we are back at Rugby Park cheering them on.

As a footnote, I recall in the 1980s Killie “breaking the mould” with a player of Pakistani descent – Rashid Sarwar. That so, few Scottish Asians have followed suit in professional football shows there is much to be done.

 Marcus Rashford

One of the biggest stories has been the excellent work of Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, who forced a UK Government U-turn on free school meals. His open letter to MPs has meant that around 1.3m children in England will get free meals out with term time which will take some pressure off families during this difficult time. This means that England will follow the lead of the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments who have already committed to feeding school kids throughout the summer holidays. Ii is great to see a footballer use his audience and role in society to influence government policy for the better. It also shows how shallow the Tory Government is when high profile publicity forced a U-turn. Let’s hope there are repeats from other stars that shame the Government into doing the right thing!